Brokerages Set Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) PT at $61.75

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.75.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $60.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.70. Walmart has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $29,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock worth $1,694,287,237 over the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the third quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.